Professor kicks off spring Star Party season Feb. 7 discussing ‘An Arctic Aurora Adventure’

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — A recent trip to the arctic circle in Sweden to view and photograph the aurora by Middle Tennessee State University professor John Wallin and his wife, Katherine Bond, will be the focus of the next MTSU Star Party.

Wallin will discuss “An Arctic Aurora Adventure” starting at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7 in Room 102 of Wiser-Patten Science Hall, kicking off the spring 2025 Star Party season for the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

In bitter cold temperatures atop a mountain at the Arctic Circle in Sweden, people observe and photograph the aurora borealis or northern lights. A recent trip to view the aurora by Middle Tennessee State University Physics and Astronomy professor John Wallin will be the subject of his Star Party talk starting at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7, in Wiser-Patten Science Hall Room 102. (MTSU photo by John Wallin)

All Star Parties are free and open to the public and children are welcome. The format is a 45- to 60-minute lecture followed by a telescope viewing at the nearby MTSU Observatory, weather permitting.

Typically held on the first Friday of the month during the semester, the Physics and Astronomy Friday Star Parties feature an assortment of interesting astronomy and physics topics from veteran faculty members.

Wallin and Bond visited the towns of Björkliden and Abisko “where they have the Aurora Sky Station — a place designed specifically to view aurora,” he said, adding both cities are about 68.5 degrees North Latitude.

The aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, is visible from areas around the Arctic, including Alaska, Canada, Iceland, Greenland, Finland, Scotland and other nations. A geomagnetic storm causes the auroral ovals (north and south) to expand, bringing the aurora to lower latitudes.

“You take a 30-minute chairlift ride in the dark to the top of one of the local mountains bringing you about 900 meters (more than one-half mile) above sea level,” Wallin said. “The location turns out to be ideal to view this phenomenon because the local mountain range keeps the sky clear about 80% of the time. During our trip, we spent four days and one night because the sun never rose during our trip.”

On a starry night in mountains at the Arctic Circle in Sweden, the aurora brings a green glow and other colors to the sky. During the December and January winter break for faculty and students, Middle Tennessee State University Physics and Astronomy professor John Wallin and his wife, Katharine Bond, visited the area and he will discuss the trip during the Star Party starting at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7, in Wiser-Patten Science Hall Room 102. (MTSU photo by John Wallin)

In the talk, Wallin, who is director of the computational and data science Ph.D. program, will recap some of the trip, including:

• What causes aurora?

• How the stars and planets appeared in the arctic.

• The lack of sunrises and sunsets during the trip and predawn light seen at mid-day.

• The cold weather, the logistics of getting around and photographing aurora.

The rest of the spring Star Party schedule:

Dr. Chuck Higgins, professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy — Dr. Chuck Higgins

Dr. "Gregg" McPherson, Physics and Astronomy lecturer — Dr. Gregg McPherson

Dr. Rob Mahurin, MtSU Physics and Astronomy lecturer — Dr. Rob Mahurin

• March 7 — lecturer Gregg McPherson discussing “How to Photograph the Moon with Your Phone.”

• April 4 — lecturer Rob Mahurin discussing “Inconstant as the Northern Star.”

• May 2 — professor Chuck Higgins discussing “Don’t Forget Canus Major, ‘Fixed and Consequent.’”

Free parking after 4:30 p.m. can be found in the Judd-Sims lot or James E. Walker Library lot and other nearby lots located on the north side of Alumni Drive between North Baird Lane and Womack Lane.

For more information about Physics and Astronomy, one of 11 College of Basic and Applied Sciences departments, call 615-898-2130.

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)